I just want to tune out all the billboards and build myself a mental shield.

Here is an excerpt from Klein's book No Logo that actually gave me chills (all emphasis mine)

"But there were those in the industry who understood that advertising wasn't just scientific; it was also spiritual. Brands could conjure a feeling- think of Aunt Jemima's comforting presence- but not only that, entire corporations could themselves embody a meaning of their own. In the early twenties, legendary adman Bruce Barton turned General Motors into a metaphor for the American Family, "something personal, warm and human" which GE was not so much the name of the faceless General Electric Company as, in Barton's words, "the initials of a friend." In 1923 Barton said that the role of advertising was to help corporations find their soul." (Klein, 6-7)


Actually makes you want to gag a little huh?
It's sickening to actually read concrete evidence confirming my gut feeling about advertising and our consumerist culture.

It's not that I want to escape the consumerist culture, I accept that we live in a capitalist society but I really need to find a way to resist this suffocating enclosure I am feeling.

Ever since I started taking my fourth year women's studies seminar "Bodies, Gender and Consumption" I have really started to pay more attention to my consumption habits and those around me, especially with respect to our friendly neighborhood "big-box" retailers (ahem, Wal-Mart) whose manufacturing practices are rife with oppression.

I am finding myself consumed (no pun intended) with trying to make sure that I am making the most responsibly consumer choice available to me at any given time. At the same time I am finding it impossible to escape corporate "brand" faith and gendered ideas of what I as a female should like and be like. I've really got this school of thought right now because I'm adding fuel to the fire by reading No Logo by Naomi Klein. Already, in the first chapter I am feeling chills at the way that companies have invaded our lives in every aspect through their strategy of "branding," where the company, rather than marketing its stuff markets its brand image, doing extensive market research on what their brand represents to the culture, and essentially trying to ensure that it represents the values of the target demographic rather than the needs in terms of the 'stuff' we need.

I feel that even since I was 12 or so a lot has changed, or perhaps I've simply become more aware of my surroundings. No matter. The fact still remains that I feel suffocated by corporations, and quite frankly I am tired of it. Brands have even invaded my home life. I am sitting here blogging on a Toshiba computer, using a Microsoft Window's Processor and using i-tunes to play my music, with a Motorola cell phone beside me in case my partner calls me since I'm expecting him over shortly. Already, four brands and I'm only in my living room (and if I looked around I'm certain I could find more)- If I went into my bedroom or my kitchen then i could list brands for a very long time because they are literally everywhere around me, evoking certain feelings/associations of the brand with particular values. I try my best to ignore the 'brands' but when they involved in everything you do it's hard not to find yourself in the trap of displaced brand faith. (More on this later)

Here is the dilemma I find myself in. I want to buy ethically produced products and locally grown produce which requires me to find a co-op or something along those lines, and also requires that I do research into the Brands I am intending on purchasing. I take four different brands of coffee and research their production standards, where their coffee comes from, and then I make a decision about which brand best represents your values. I frequently try not to fall into the trap after brand faith, but in an effort to make the most responsible consumer choices I have found myself committing to other brands. The ones who's advertising/my third party research deemed acceptable. The bottom line is still coming down to the brand because we have such an abundance of sources for all the crap we as North Americans consume.

I want to reduce waste and I am a big coffee drinker, so I buy a travel mug from Starbucks- Branding again, and also an indicator of brand faith, which i do have because if all their coffee is not Fair Trade Certified, it is Fairly Traded and so far it's the best option I can consistently rely on.

I want to buy beauty products that are natural, not bad for your skin as many of the cosmetics on the market are, so after research you commit to The Body Shop.

Now, let's stop and think about the images that the Body Shop evokes. When I think of the Body Shop, I don't necessarily think of a product, in fact, I have never had a product come to mind, but an image. Think about it? What does the Body Shop represent to you? Ethics? Natural Sources? Natural Beauty? The Body Shop has branded itself as the ethical source for cosmetics, and they have never compromised on price, because they have always had faith in their brand and that it would bring them the sales. And they were right. As were so many corporations.

No matter how i try to fight huge corporations, I find myself in a double bind because I still inevitably find myself endorsing another brand. I am pissed off right now because I am always branded. Avon. The Body Shop. Lush. Yves Rocher. Kiss My Face. Starbucks. Kleen Kanteen. Vogue. The Big Carrot. (Luckily when it comes to close I have been able to escape the brand trap)

It is truly discouraging.

The whole notion of brands and capitalism today is chilling. What happened to going to the store and knowing the clerk, and they would help you out with a personal and community feeling? (Maybe knowing the clerk is a little of a stretch, but i mean, there is no sense of community and we purchase "brands" rather than products ie: is there really any difference between the branded bag of flour or the no name brand of flour; which ironically is also branded?) Companies came to realize that marketing values sold better than stuff, and so, rather than marketing the things we needed we would have the brand and their values marketed to us. This happens in such a manner that I cannot go to the gym at my school without 12 foot high advertisements for Alesse. I also can't use the washroom in the food court without sitting and staring at some stupid piece of crap ad on the washroom door. "This advertising space generously donated by this establishment and Zoom media." Wow. Thank you. You were so generous to ensure that I can't even pee and have that 30 seconds free of some sort of corporate advertising ploy.

So, as I was saying at the beginning of this post, I am desperate for a way to combat this branding! I want to resist but I consistently keep falling back into the trap of Brand faith. It is getting to a point that everything is sponsored, everything has a logo, and I seriously find myself feeling clausterphobic by the invasion of my personal space. So, my stategy for reistance so far is to avoid certain brands like Walmart. I buy local produce. I always try to buy the no-name alternative or to buy a completely different product that does the same thing (ie: no name tonic water and baking soda to clean out stains rather than some heavily branded and chemically laden stain removing agent.) But short of that I am really unsure of what other type of resistance I could really afford just in my daily life (after school is over this term I would definitely commit to something bigger)...any ideas?